Regional development is a key focus of our programme for Government and is central to the work of my Department and our enterprise development agencies. The mid-east region, comprising Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow, is home to 126 IDA client companies employing 20,284 people. The mid-east has a significant ecosystem of well-established companies across technology, life sciences, international financial services, and engineering and industrial technologies. The region has also won significant investment in the food and the film subsectors. FDI performance has been consistent over the six years requested by the Deputy, 2020 to 2025, with IDA-supported employment increasing by 973 people, or 5%, over that period. Employment in Kildare and Meath increased by 490 and 1,259, respectively, while employment in Louth and Wicklow decreased by 710 and 66, respectively. Over the period of its last strategy, 2021 to 2024, IDA Ireland supported the delivery of 973 investments and the creation of 76,790 jobs. Some 54% of these investments were won to regional locations. In the mid-east, 51 investments were won against a target of 40. Under the current strategy, the IDA is targeting 550 of a total 1,000 investments to regional locations, including 60 in the mid-east. The first year of this strategy, 2025, saw IDA Ireland achieving the highest ever number of investments, 323, a 38% increase on 2024, which are expected to create over 15,300 additional jobs in the coming years. We know that investments by IDA Ireland client companies consistently generate high-quality, skilled jobs nationwide. It is significant that 183 investments, representing 57% of all investments in 2025, were in regional locations.
Sentiment score: 0.31
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. I acknowledge her question and her commitment to the people of Louth in regard to high-quality, skilled jobs. The Minister and I recently published the new national development plan and part of that capital plan is an emphasis on regional enterprise and supporting the regional ecosystem. That is around helping SMEs start, grow and scale, while supporting the IDA on next-generation FDI sites and on its regional property portfolio. That will strengthen innovation and capacity within the regions. With regard to County Louth, the IDA will commence the advanced building solution in Drogheda. It is also partnering with Meath County Council for the delivery of an advance planning permit for an ATB in Navan. That is the first step in activating the site, building on it and ensuring it is marketed correctly for the right sectors to ensure that jobs can go into the area. We are putting the public capital in place and ensuring that regional enterprise funding is allocated to each of the regions. We are supporting the IDA in that regard.
Sentiment score: 0.38
We are very much focused on working with key State agencies, through Enterprise Ireland and the IDA, to ensure that we can continue investment across regions, including Louth. The most recently published report outlined that over 57% of all IDA investments, that is, 323 investments last year, were in the regions. That delivered huge positivity in the regions to ensure that people can work in their areas close to home. We have also committed a significant amount of research and development grants, totalling over €2.5 billion, to support 33,000 employees in terms of upskilling. We want to continue regional dispersion to address the imbalance in projects in urban areas while ensuring that the likes of Louth is also supported. There have been real success stories in retaining FDI investment in the area and bringing new investments to Louth.
Sentiment score: 0.59
As set out in our Department's sectoral capital plan, I and my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Burke, published last week, ensuring a vibrant seed and venture capital market that supports high growth and market disruptive businesses at all stages of development from seed to follow-on is a key priority for this Government. The seed and venture capital scheme was established in 1994 and since then has invested €700 million to support and sustain national and regional innovation which, in turn, has leveraged €3.3 billion in private investment. The scheme's key purpose is to increase the supply of risk capital to Irish SME start-ups and scale-ups, to support their growth, leverage private sector investment and establish a robust, commercially viable and sustainable venture capital sector in Ireland. By providing access to finance at the critical start-up phase, the scheme has also played a very important role in developing the pipeline of talent, innovation and high-growth Irish-owned companies. It is funded through our Department and administered by Enterprise Ireland. The scheme operates by making commitments to selected venture capital funds which, in turn, make investments into high potential, innovative companies, according to their investment strategies. The funds are selected to align with national objectives and Enterprise Ireland's strategy. The fund managers participating in the scheme look for the best of Irish innovation, namely, companies that can compete on the global stage and which typically require significant equity investment to develop their products and services. The scheme operates in five-year cycles. The Minister, Deputy Burke, launched the latest cycle of the scheme in August 2024 which will run for the period 2025 to 2029. The Government agreed to an increase of €75 million on the previous cycle. That brings the total available to invest under the 2025 scheme to a record allocation of €250 million. The first open call for the current scheme closed in February 2025 and received a record number of applications, demonstrating that there is a high level of demand for finance to invest in Irish start-ups. Enterprise Ireland made its first commitments to the fund in quarter 4 of 2025. This will be followed by a period of further fundraising by the funds.
Sentiment score: 0.34
I thank the Deputy for his question and interest in this area. We know how important it is. Recently, the Minister, Deputy Burke, launched the start-up Ireland programme, along with the seed and venture capital scheme. These two pillars are critical to the strategy to make Ireland one of the best places in Europe to start and scale a business. We have allocated over €28 million to start-up Ireland in 2026 to strengthen the start-up ecosystem. The seed and venture capital scheme has gone from strength to strength. The most recent review shows that we are making huge headway with regard to the number of additional jobs that have been created - over 4,300 since it was established in 1994. The review of the scheme from 2013 to 2022 provided up to €2.5 billion in gross value added. There are significant gains in research and development and valuations. Many Irish companies have scaled onto the international and global markets as a result.
Sentiment score: 0.34
I thank the Deputy for his question. Enterprise Ireland manages the fund. The fund reflects geography and Enterprise Ireland has a target of up to 60%. Funding is very much targeted at manufacturing, internationally traded services and high-growth potential areas in life sciences, healthcare, pharma, fintech, technology, digitalisation and the green and environmental sectors and is very much focused on areas which can ensure quality and inclusivity. In 2024, 22% of all seed venture capital supported companies were women-led. Enterprise Ireland is very much to the fore in that regard. We want to ensure that funding does not go solely to tech companies in Dublin. Our ambition is that many founders will come from many different backgrounds right across the country.
Sentiment score: 0.22
Balanced regional development is a Government priority and a central component of the White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030 is to support balanced regional enterprise development. My Department and its agencies contribute to this agenda in several ways, including through the nine regional enterprise plans, REPs. These are bottom-up plans developed and led by regional stakeholders that focus on collaborative initiatives to strengthen the enterprise ecosystem in each region. The north-east regional enterprise plan covers the counties of Cavan, Monaghan and Louth and its steering committee includes stakeholders from the enterprise agencies, local enterprise offices, local authorities, regional skills, higher and further education, Fáilte Ireland and companies in the private sector and others. The north-east regional enterprise plan has 12 actions under five strategic objectives, which focus on areas including decarbonisation, digitalisation and place-making. The last north-east regional enterprise steering committee meeting was held in June 2025. The regional enterprise plans were extended for one year to the end of 2025 with agreement from the regional enterprise plans national oversight group at its meeting on 25 April 2024. This extension provided an additional year for continued implementation of the existing plans and time to review the regional enterprise plan initiative and consider the best approach to the future of the regional enterprise plans. In this context, my Department commissioned an independent review of the regional enterprise plan initiative in 2025. A steering group made up of the regional enterprise stakeholders and Department officials oversaw the review, which included significant engagement with regional enterprise stakeholders, in-depth analysis of the plans and their implementation progress reports and consideration of international approaches to regional enterprise development. This review also included recommendations and options for the future of the regional enterprise plans. I will be considering the complete review, along with the final progress reports for the regional enterprise plans from 2022 to 2025, over the coming months as we plan for the future approach to these matters.
Sentiment score: 0.25
I acknowledge the Deputy's advocacy for Louth and the north east. That is really significant and important. We want to get the regional enterprise plans back up and running in 2026. As part of that, we have looked at ensuring there are programme managers based in each of the local authorities. That is really important to drive implementation, but also to give the accountability piece. We will be focusing on 12 actions under the five strategic objectives, as I stated earlier, one being around decarbonisation and climate action, to ensure that many companies and SMEs have digitalisation and the capability within their own organisations and also around leveraging growth sectors. We have seen real positivity within Louth, as the Deputy said earlier. Back in January 2025, MSD Ireland announced it was expanding its Irish operations with its acquisition of WuXi vaccines in Dundalk and the creation of up to 1,000 new jobs across Ireland, including 150 roles in Dundalk. We want the enterprise plans to be a core part of each of the regions and very much part of that is the key agencies working in tandem with private and Government agencies.
Sentiment score: 0.27
Again, as I said earlier, this Government is very much committed to ensuring we have the skills and talent within each of our regions. We have had a real focus on apprenticeships and upskilling. We very much want that to be a core part of the regional skill set forums, driving investments into areas where it has the talent. Indeed, regional enterprise plans will be a key driver in that regard, working with further and higher education institutes. We know how important that is in terms of workforce planning. We have seen successes then within the pharmaceutical and hi-tech sectors where we have graduates with engineering or life science skills to take up employment in these areas. That is a core part and component. Part of that is ensuring that local authorities and regional stakeholders are part of the discussions in terms of what is the right fit or what are the right sectors within each of our regions across the nine sectors that are under the regional enterprise plans. We very much want to push this out into 2026 and ensure they are up and running and are measurable and accountable to the oversight group.
Sentiment score: 0.34
The Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Deputy O’Callaghan, has complete ownership of matters relating to the granting of visa and immigration permissions and is solely responsible for the administration of its registration appointment service. Queries relating to immigration status or any initiatives or temporary flexibilities in accessing its services during periods of high demand should be addressed to that Department. My Department has responsibility for the employment permits legislation which provides permission to take up employment in the State subject to the granting of immigration permission to enter for that purpose by the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. It is my understanding that all employment permit holders can commence the employment stated on the permit while awaiting confirmation of their immigration permission to remain. A period is provided to facilitate registration with immigration service delivery. However, it is the responsibility of the non-EEA worker to ensure his or her permission is appropriate and up to date. Significant work has been carried out by my Department to ensure that the national economic migration system supports all sectors of our economy. The new employment permit system has made the application process easier, more secure and more intuitive, resulting in a more streamlined processing experience. These timelines have been steadily decreasing and I am confident that this positive trend will continue. Processing timelines currently stand at seven business days for a critical skills employment permit and 25 business days for a general employment permit. In particular, I have engaged closely with representatives of the health and social care sector to support that sector. This includes ensuring speedy delivery of permits for non-consultant hospital doctor rotations, ensuring access to a nursing workforce and recent engagement on the topic of healthcare assistants and home carers. My Department does not engage with the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration regarding its processing times for individual visas. However, I am working closely with the Minister of State, Deputy Colm Brophy, in regard to a single permit.
Sentiment score: 0.41
I thank the Deputy for bringing this important matter to our attention. Certainly, a healthcare professional should not lose their job or employment on the basis of a backlog. As I said earlier, employment permits allow for the commencement of work while the registration is pending. That is important to factor in. Our immediate priority, as a Government, is to keep hospital staff and ensure patients are cared for. Permit holders can start work on that basis. We are all working together and working with the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to accelerate any systemic issues that may present. We want to ensure our permit system is fast and flexible and it delivers the critical skills employment permits that we require to have a functional economy. Healthcare is a critical component of that.
Sentiment score: 0.31
We have made significant strides with regard to our efficiency by transitioning to an online employment permit system. Since its launch, we have processed over 22,000 employment permits and we have issued over 15,000. That has been successful with regard to processing times. We see now critical skills employment permits, including healthcare roles, are being processed within 14 days. That by any yardstick is important to recognise. We will continue to work with the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration to ensure that we have a seamless application process and work is under way in that regard. We hope that the next phase will deliver a faster, more integrated experience not just for the applicant but also to ensure that employees have that certainty and good user experience.
Sentiment score: 0.37